1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a padded bedpan and particularly to contoured padded bedpans.
2. Background Information
Care must be taken to provide bed-ridden patients with easy to use methods and procedures for disposing of urine and feces. This need is particularly acute when dealing with patients suffering from extreme pain due to healing fractures or other ailments, and when dealing with elderly patients who suffer from bed sores and who are less nimble and more brittle than other patients.
While the bedpan is far from a revolutionary concept, the idea of providing a comfortable appliance continues to fall short in the practiced art. Some pan designs (U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,348) reflect the importance of minimizing patient jostling by incorporating a low lying, wedge-like shape. Other designs (U.S. Pat. Nos. 870,984, 2,730,725 and 4,368,548) incorporate large volume and anti-tipping configurations. Nevertheless, a single appliance incorporating these and other features remains elusive.
Furthermore, nothing in the prior art has taught a design that has a relatively small "footprint" on fewer of the patient's bearing surfaces, nor have current appliances taught novel ways to increase pan volume while also maintaining a sleek and low profile.